


Nightmares

by ImOutOfMyVulcanMind (LoopyLu94)



Category: Almost Human
Genre: F/M, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-16
Updated: 2017-09-16
Packaged: 2018-12-30 12:05:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12108351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoopyLu94/pseuds/ImOutOfMyVulcanMind
Summary: John has a nightmare, and as always, you’re there to help him through the aftermath.





	Nightmares

Movements next to you roused you from your sleep, and it took you a few seconds to get your bearings.

“Martin…” John’s voice sounded broken, and the pain in it always tore at your heart. You rolled over and saw John sprawled on his back, covered in sweat, caught in the grip of another nightmare. It wasn’t the first time you’d shared a bed with him during one of his dreams, but this one did seem to be a particularly bad one. John writhed on the bed, and in the moonlight, you could see the anguish contorting his face. “NO!” He jerked towards you, and you only narrowly avoided his fist as he tried to lash out at some unknown assailant.

“John.” You kept your voice soft as you crept off the bed, wanting to keep your distance but not go too far. “John.” You called again, switching on a dim light as you watched John flail around violently. “John.” You raised your voice a little, but John was so deep in his nightmare that your words weren’t reaching him.

“Gotta move.” John got tangled in the bedsheet, and began to kick and tear at it in a desperate attempt to free himself.

You knew you had to wake him. If you didn’t, John was going to end up hurting himself. “John.” It wasn’t the best idea to get back on the bed, but you had to. “John, wake up.” You knelt on the mattress and gently placed your hand on his shoulder, nudging it lightly.

Even in his sleep and with one leg, John’s reflexes were quick. Before you had a chance to retreat, a hand grabbed your wrist, and yanked you further down on the bed. John was awake now, but he was still disorientated as he pulled you over and pinned you down underneath him. His breathing was ragged as he stared down at you.

“John, it’s me. Y/N.” You said softly. You could have retaliated easily. John didn’t have you in a way that meant you couldn’t fight back, but you chose not to. He wasn’t hurting you, or trying to hurt you, so you decided to let him fully wake and come to his senses without any more aggression. “It’s okay. You’re okay.”

Above you, John blinked, and you could see the confusion start to clear from his eyes. “Y/N…” He whispered hoarsely, and you smiled.

“Hey, handsome.”

John stared at you for a few more moments, before realising that he was holding you down. “Shit.” John released you, and rolled to the side quickly. “I’m sorry.” He moved to sit on the side of the bed, his head in his hands. “I didn’t mean…”

“It’s okay, John. You didn’t hurt me.” You sat up and placed a hand on John’s back. “I mean it. You didn’t.” You got off the bed and knelt down in front of John.

“I could’ve. I could’ve really hurt you.” John’s breath was slowly starting to return to normal, but you could see he was trembling lightly.

“John, look at me.” You gently pulled John’s hands away from his face, forcing his hazel eyes to meet yours. “You know I can kick your butt. If you had tried anything, I would’ve stopped it, you know that.” You smiled up at John, holding his hands in yours.

John looked at you, eyes searching your face, then nodded. “I know.” He whispered, squeezing your hands tightly. “It’s just that I’d never forgive myself if I hurt you.”

“Then I promise to never let you hurt me.” You leant up to press a light kiss to John’s lips, before standing totally. “Stay there.” You released John’s hands and disappeared into the bathroom. When you returned, you were carrying a damp cloth. You sat next to John again, and carefully began to run the cloth over any exposed skin, wiping away the sweat. John was quiet as he usually was after a nightmare, and you didn’t press him to talk. He knew he could talk to you, and you knew that he’d speak when he was ready.

“You thirsty?” You asked when you were finished. At John’s nod, you rose again, putting the cloth to one side as you went into the kitchen. “Here, drink this.” You said, passing him a glass of water when you came back. While John drank, you straightened the bedsheets a little, watching John from the corner of your eye.

When you were done, you sat next to John again. “What do you want to do now?” You asked him, letting your hand rest on his forearm. This part always varied with John. Sometimes he’d want the two of you to cuddle, other times he’d want to be on his own.

“Let’s get back into bed.” John said quietly, and you nodded. You lay down on your back, and watched as John lay down too.

“Come here?” You offered, opening your arms with a smile. John returned your smile with a small one of his own, and shifted so his head was on your chest and one arm around your middle. You wrapped your arms around him in return, running your fingers lightly over his skin.

“I’m sorry I woke you, Y/N.” John murmured after a few minutes of silence. “I hate it, but I don’t know what I’d do without you either. I don’t know how I managed before you.”

“I don’t know either, but you’ll never have to go back to that. You’re stuck with me now, and I’ll be right here through every one.” You replied, bringing a hand up to run your fingers through John’s hair. It was a nice feeling, and it helped John relax too. You could already feel his muscles start to loosen.

“I love you.”

“I love you too, John.”

The two of you fell quiet again, and you closed your eyes as you let your fingers play with the strands of John’s hair. You were so focused on John’s hair that you nearly missed the quiet sniff. You didn’t say anything, and you didn’t stop your movements. John always clamed up if you tried to comfort him too soon, and you knew he needed to release all the pent-up emotions.

The sniff was soon followed by a quiet sob, and John clutched the material of your shirt in a fist as he fought with himself to stay in control. You knew from experience that it was a battle he wouldn’t win, and soon enough a louder sob tore its way through John’s body.

You knew John was past the point of clamming up again, so you began to rub his back. “It’s okay. Let it out.” You whispered, feeling the dampness start to spread across your shirt. John clung to you tightly, just like he always did. He once told you that when he was like that, it felt as if he were drowning, and holding onto you was the only thing that stopped him from being suffocated by his emotions.

It broke your heart when John was like this, his tough exterior torn away to expose the vulnerability underneath. You wished you could take all that pain away, John was too good a man to deserve it, but you knew all you could do was be there for him. Be there during the nightmares and after them. Ready to hold or keep your distance. See him through his lowest moments, and help bring him up to his highest again.

John sobbed into your chest for an indeterminate amount of time, but eventually he began to calm down, his sobs turning back into sniffs. “Sorry.” He whispered, gently smoothing out the crumpled material he’d been clutching the whole time.

“You never need to apologize. Not to me.” You said, your hand still rubbing John’s back soothingly.

John pulled away, and lay next to you so you were level. His eyes were red, and you reached up to brush away the remaining tears. “You mean so much to me, Y/N. I wouldn’t survive if something happened to you.”

“Is that what happened in your dream?”

John nodded. “It started off like they usually do. With the raid. I got the call from Martin that he was injured. I managed to get to him, but then I looked away at the MX who was with us. I argued with it, and it left us. Then when I looked back down, it was you not Martin. I felt like I’d been shot. Seeing you bleeding out in my arms.” John sighed, closing his eyes. “I tried to get you to safety but I couldn’t…there was so much blood…then I woke up.”

“Nothing’s going to happen to me, John. And if it does, I know I’ll have you looking after me.” You said softly, brushing your thumb over his cheek.

John nodded, opening his eyes again to look down at you. “I’ll never let anyone hurt you, I promise.”

You smiled. “I know.” You kissed John softly, then sat up enough to pull your damp shirt over your head and toss it to one side.

“Take this.” John had already removed his own shirt, and passed it to you. It was far too big, but it was comfy.

“Thank you.” You smiled, kissing John again. “You think you’ll be able to go back to sleep?” It was another thing that always varied with John. Sometimes he was able to return to sleep, other times he’d be awake all night.

“Maybe. I’m tired.” John sighed, watching you. “Can…can we do that thing? I know it should be the other way around, and it’s awkward but…”

“Of course we can.” You said, and John kissed you.

“Thank you, sweetheart.” He said quietly, rolling onto his side with his back facing you. You scooted closer, pressing your chest to his back, and wrapping an arm around his now bare waist.

“This okay?” You asked once you’d gotten into a comfortable position, with one of your legs draped over his. It probably did make a strange sight. John didn’t look like the type of person who wanted to be cuddled close, but you really didn’t give a damn. He nearly always liked doing this at some point after a nightmare.

“Perfect. Thank you.”

“It’s alright.” You murmured, kissing John’s shoulder. “You’re comfy to cuddle.”

John chuckled, and it made you smile.

It took some time, and you didn’t even realize it happened, but the pair of you did fall back to sleep. John was peaceful for the rest of the night, and you smiled happily when you woke the next morning, to find him half on top of you, and snoring lightly. Not that he’d ever admit to that.


End file.
